Tarmey: 'Corrie reaction is wonderful'

Bill Tarmey has admitted that he is "chuffed" over the public's response to his final Coronation Street episode.

On Monday night, viewers saw Tarmey's character Jack Duckworth reunited with his late wife Vera as he passed away peacefully at home.

The emotional episode - which saw Liz Dawn reprise her role as Vera - was praised by fans and critics alike and attracted an audience of 11.6m to ITV1.

Asked to sum up the viewer reaction in an interview with North West Tonight, Tarmey replied: "A surprise! The reaction has been wonderful and I'm rather chuffed and rather proud."

Revealing what fans have been saying to him since the episode aired, he said: "That they were all crying! I said, 'Well how do you think I was - I was in it, and I was crying'."

"I'd been overly emotional before the show, and I got overly emotional after the scene," he continued. "Everyone in the studio was at it! I thought, 'I've got to close my eyes here because I can't watch that lot, otherwise I'm going to spoil the scene and start crying when he's supposed to be dying, or dead!'"